Record bearing document



'March 5, 1946.1 E. D. DE GRUcHY RECORD 4BEARING DOCUMENT Filed oct. 3o. 1944 WN q l Nm w 0M 4; 0. E J s M la, a 5 a 1 Y w 7 d@ w. 3 7 mmwwjg J 5 .3 @im Patented Mar. 5, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE 2,395,804 Y RECORD BEARING DoCUMENT Ernest D; de Gruchy, Chicago, Ill., assigner to f John J. Bailey, Chicago, Ill.

Application October 30, 1944, Serial No. 560,923

7 Claims.

applicants co-pending application, Serial No.

497,443, filed August 5, 1943.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of a new and improved type of record bearing document which is permanent and tamper-proof.

Another object of the invention is the provision Vof a new and improved method for preparing a record bearing document of the type described.

A more specific object is the provision of an identification card which is `simply and easily manufactured and which provides an identication means that cannot be tampered with without giving full evidence of the tampering.

Under present war conditions, it is essential that identication be carried by the workers in most plants and this identification has to be checked by a guard who will not know all the individuals on sight. The guard must be able to check the identification card with the individual carrying it with a minimum of delay. It is obvious that under such circumstances a card carrying a photograph is the best and quickest means of identification. Itis also easy to imitate since an individual may substitute himself for another worker and in so doing substitute his own photograph upon a standard identification card of the company and thereby gain entrance past the guard with no diiculty.

The present invention is illustrated with respect to an identification card which presents a great deal of diiculty in duplication or changing and which is very easily inspected by a guard to determine whether the card is one originally issued by the issuing authority.

It will be understood, however, that the invention is applicable to the preparation of other types of record bearing indicia as, for example, checks, money orders and other types of documentary records.

Generally stated, the documents prepared in accordance with the invention comprise a record bearing sheet,` preferably plain white paper, nontransparent by reflected light but of relatively high transparency by transmitted light, a photographic print paper with a photographic emulsion layer thereon containing a developed photographic image of at least a portion of said record, and a water insoluble bonding layerintegrally'bonding said developed photographic image-containing layer to the Aback of 'said record bearing sheet. Thus the visible record appears on the front surface of the record bearing sheet, and a secondary record, formed by said developed photographic image, is contained in the emulsion layer of said print paper where it is normally invisible from the front of said document by reiiected light butis Visible by strong transmitted light as, for` example, when said document is held in front of a strong light source.

For the purpose of the invention, it is preferable that thefront record bearing sheet contain a blank space opposite the position occupied by the developed photographic image in the photographic emulsion layer of the secondary record bearing sheet.

Certain advantages of the invention Iiow from the method of preparing the aforesaid record bearing documents and such documents, when prepared in accordancewith the invention, cannot be changed by substituting false records thereon Without giving full evidence of the tam- .'v pering.

Other features and advantages of the invention Will appear more fully as the description proceeds, reference. being had to the accompanying drawing wherein a preferred form of the invention is shown. It should be understood, however, that' the drawing and description are illustrative only and are not Ito be taken as limiting the invention except insofar as it is limited by the claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a front view of an identification card embodying the invention Fig. 2 `is a sectional view taken through a partof the card; f

Fig. 3 is a sectional View taken through another part of the card;

Fig. i` `is a front view of shown inFig. 3 illustrating the part as ready to incorporate in the final card assembly; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken through the final card assembly.

It is to be understood that the drawing herein is somewhat diagrammatic and that the sectional:

that part of the card;

lower righthand corner of provided where the thumb print of the individual can be applied. It is obvious of course that additional space can be provided for finger prints if desired. The back side of the card can be used for any desired information, such as height, weight, age and detailed description of the individual. In making up the card, one procedure is to take a blank sheet I3 of a good plain white paper with a plain nish which has relatively high transparency. On this blank sheet of paperr theprinting of the necessary printed information may be made. The printed blank is signed and the thumb print Illy is put on it and then a picture is taken of the individual and a print on ordinary printpaperis made and pasted in the upper lefthand cornerasi illustrated in Fig. 1. A desirable weight of paper to be used for the blank I3 is about 8 lbs. to the ream.

The next step in the method of producing the identification card is to take a sheet I5 of light weight print paper such as No.4 Agfa. The print paper normally comprises a light weight paper sheet with a gelatin-silver halide photographic emulsion layer thereon. This paper is covered with a mask I6 to leave only a small square exposed (see Fig. 4). On this square there is printed bythe usual process the same photograph which is printed for the print II pasted in the upper lefthand corner of the first sheet.

This print is now developed inthe usual mannerin a commercial developing solution. The development is stopped and the print is fixed in the usual manner employed in making prints of this character and then washed. While the print is wet, the emulsion side I 1 of the wet print is next coated 'With a bonding solution, using a brush, swab or other means, and the print is allowed to dry for ten to fifteen minutes until a certain tackiness develops on the coated side.

During the drying'period, the sheet I3 shown in Fig.. 2 has its back side coated with the same bonding solution, but since the sheet I3 is dry' it takes a shorter time for it to reach the tacky stage. Three or. four'minutes usually are sufflcient.

The preferable bonding solution is one which sets to a Water-resistant or waterproof' mass either by the addition of'substances which act as accelerato-rs to cause setting in the cold, or one that can be polymerized or set by the application of heat, or one which sets by a combination of accelerator and heat. For the purpose of the present invention, it is preferable to employ as the adhesive a resin condensation product which is thermosetting, that is to say, which sets to an irreversible water insoluble state' upon heating. It is believed that aldehydic resins of this type probably react with the gelatin of the emulsion layer to increase the tenacity of the bond formed between said emulsion layer and the back of the front record bearing sheet. To secure the best results, it is preferable to apply the resinouscondensation product tothe emulsion layer while the latteryis still wetv after the developed photographic image is xed.

, The adhesive which has been found to work the best consists of a urea-formaldehyde resin condensation product that is Water soluble and which sets to a water-resistant mass upon. the addition of an accelerator or'the application of heat or a combination of both. While an oil soluble condensation product of. urea-formaldehyde may work, the ferred, although the oil soluble type is considered 'within' the scope` ofv thev invention The ureawater soluble. type is pre-v formaldehyde resins and other resins of this type, including the melamine-formaldehyde resins, are especially advantageous in that they form a transparent bonding layer which is not subject to discoloration. Another type which has been found to be satisfactory is the phenol-formaldehyde condensation product or condensation products consisting of formaldehyde and a phenol which actsimilarly to the above urea-formaldehyde produces. While such adhesives as blood albumen set with heat or egg albumen set with heat may also be used, they do not produce quite the Water-resistance of the urea-formaldehyde or phenol-formaldehyde adhesives but they are included Within the scope of the invention.

Acne gallon batch of the preferred adhesive is made. as follows: 1200 grams commercial urea and 2400 grams 38% formaldehyde are mixed in asuitable container. Then 180 grams potassium carbonate are dissolved in the mixture andthe whole heated at from to 180 degrees F. until the mass has the consistency of olive oil. The heat is then removed and the mixture stirred until cool. rIhe hydrogen ion concentration is then adjusted to 7.5 at which point the adhesive remains reasonably stable at room temperature. Accelerators of an acid nature are used to set the adhesive for use and ammonium chloride is preferred although other acid salts, such as aluminum sulphate or ammonium nitrate, can be used.

' When the two sheets have reached the desired tacky stage, they are placed together, the tacky sides against each other, and put under pressure for ten to fifteen minutes so as to be well adhered together and so that the solution penetrates into the bres of the paper itself. The finished card can then be dried in a photographic drier and trimmed to size. If it is desired to protect the same by enclosing it in transparent material, this can be-done although it is not necessary.

The finishedV identification card has the advantage that it contains the regular exposed photograph of the individual and a hidden photograph which is a duplicate of the original photograph pasted to the card. This hidden photograph, which is on sheet I5, is readily visible due to the transparency of the paper when the card is held before a reasonably strong light. This makes it possible for the guard to pass the card over a light source which can be provided at his post and detect any difference in the two photographs. lTo all outward appearances, the card is a single sheet. The method of preparing the card is such that the photographic emulsion on the sheet I5 is so embedded in the front sheet I3 and adhered thereto that no apparent break exists.betweenthe two sheets. Furthermore, even if the two sheets are separated with the greatest of care, it is physically impossible to remove the inner photograph and replace it without the removal appearingV obvious. The identication card,.therefore, cannot be tampered with, and the only way in which a substitution can be made is by the making of a complete new identification card with forged signatures and with the interposed photograph aswell asthe pasted on photograph.

It will be apparent that although the invention is of a special importance in making identication cards, similar principles can be applied in making other types of record bearing documents, such as checks, money orders, and the like. It is-notV essential, vof course, that the secondary record contained in the emulsion layer in the form of a developed photographic image need necessarily be the photograph of a person contained on the front sheet; it can be the photograph of a signature, design, or other record.

From the foregoing descrip-tion, it is believed that the construction and operation of the present invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in this art.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows: v

l. A permanent and tamper-proof document containing a concealed photographic image, said document comprising a photographic print paper with a photographic emulsion layer thereon containing a developed photographic image and a front sheet of paper integrally united by a bonding layer to said photo-graphic emulsion layer, the combined eiect of said structure being such A that said image is invisible by reflected light but visible by strong transmitted light.

2. A permanent document not subject to tampering Without full evidence lthereof comprising a record bearing sheet which is non-transparent by reflected light and substantially transparent by transmitted light, a photographic print paper with a photographie emulsion layer thereon containing a developed photographic image of at least a portion of said record carried by said record bearing sheet, and a bonding layer integrally bonding said developed photographic image-containing layer to the 'back ofV said record bearing sheet, said developed photo-graphic image being normally invisible from the front of said document by reflected transmitted light.

3. A permanent document not subject to tampering without full evidence thereof comprising a record bearing sheet which is non-transparent by reflected light and substantially transparent by transmitted light, a photographic print paper with a photographic emulsion layer thereon containing a developed photographic image of at least a portion of said record carried by said record bearing sheet, and a bonding layer integrally bonding said developed photographic image-containing layer to the back of said record bearing sheet, said record bearing sheet containing a blank space opposite the position occupied by said developed photographic image and said developed photographic image being normally invisible from the front of said document by reiiected light but visible by strong transmitted light through said blank space.

4. A permanent document not subject to tarnpering without full evidence thereof comprising a record bearing sheet which is non-transparent by reflected light and substantially transparent by transmitted light, a photographic print paper light but visible by strong with a photographic emulsion layer thereon containing a developed photographic image of at least a portion of said record carried by said record bearing sheet, said photographic emulsion layer comprising a gelatin photographic emulsion, and an aldehydic resin integrally bonding said gelatin emulsion layer to the back of said record bearing sheet, said developed photographic image being normally invisible from the front of said document by reflected light but visible by strong transmitted light.

5. A permanent document not subject to tampering without full evidence thereof 'comprising a record bearing sheet which is non-transparent by reflected light and substantially transparent by transmitted light, a photographic print paper with a photographic emulsion layer thereon containing a developedk photographic image of at least a portion of said record carried by said record bearing sheet, said photographic emulsion layer comprising a gelatin photographic emulsion, and a urea-formaldehyde resin integrally bonding said gelatin emulsion layer to the back of said record bearing sheet, said developed photographic image being normally invisible from the front of said document by reflected light but visible by strong transmitted light.

6. An identification card comprising a front sheet carrying on its front face identifying means individual to the particular card and including a photograph, a lbacking sheet of print paper having an emulsion thereon adhered to the back of said front sheet, and a developed image of said photograph in said emulsion layer, said developed image being completely enclosed between said front sheet and the backing of said print paper and being normally invisible by reected light but being visible through said sheets when the card is placed between the observer and a relatively strong light source.

7. An identification card comprising a front sheet of paper which is normally non-transparent by reflected light but substantially transparent by transmitted light having thereon printed and written identification matter and a photograph of a person, a backing sheet containing a photographic emulsion layer having therein a developed photographic image of the photograph on the front sheet and positioned in a different area, the two sheets being intimately united throughout their engaging surfaces including the emulsion layer in which said developed photographic image appears, said developed photographic image in said emulsion layer being normally invisible by reiiected light and visible through said sheets when the card is placed between the observer and a relatively strong light source.

` ERNEST D. DE GRUCHY. 

